Why Is Electric Car Charging Equipment So Expensive? | PluginCars.com

Why do home EV chargers cost so much? It’s just a little box with some wiring, so why should it run $500 to $1,000, plus another grand or so for installation? Chalk it up to initial development costs, the expense of certification by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and—in a low-volume market—expensive materials and connectors.

The actual charger is in the car. The equipment connected to your wall is technically the electric vehicle service equipment, or EVSE for short.

Kevin Mull is vice president of business development at Bosch Automotive Service Solutions. Asked why wall-mounted EVSEs are relatively costly today, he points to the high cost of raw materials, especially copper. “The cable and the connector are a third of the entire cost because of the copper,” he said. “The connectors are also relatively high in cost because the volume of EVSE sales are so low. Once we get the volume up, the cost will come down.”

It does seem likely that costs of wall-mounted EVSEs will come down significantly, and consumers todaycan really shop around for the best bargain. What’s more, they have other options.